The Poor Fake Young Master Finds a Powerful Patron

As the fake young master of a wealthy family, Yu Ran never understood why everyone blamed him for everything.

He'd never wanted to fight the real young master for anything. But when his identity was revealed, the adoptive parents who'd once doted on him suddenly changed their tune. The real young master had suffered outside and become sickly, so they demanded Yu Ran pay the price too, as though everything that had happened to the real young master had been Yu Ran's fault.

Yu Ran was abused in every way imaginable, and eventually died in the basement.

Reborn, he was going to take back everything he'd lost!

He'd make everyone who'd abused him, hurt him, and trampled on him pay!

The first thing a ghost seeking revenge needs is a knife to cut the flesh from the bones.

Yu Ran set his sights on Gu Yanshan.

At eighteen, he seized power. At twenty, he took the helm. By thirty-two, he had reached the pinnacle of power among the wealthy elite.

Yu Ran wanted to make him the knife he'd use for revenge.

He had nothing at all except a beautiful face and a pair of stubborn eyes.

With red-rimmed eyes, he stumbled into the man's arms, looking utterly pitiful. "Save me."

The elegant man steadied him, but his words were merciless. "Kid, that won't work on me."

Later, Gu Yanshan, who claimed not to fall for that sort of thing, not only took Yu Ran home, but personally taught him: "A bone-cleaver can slice through sinew and bone, but it can also cut flesh and skin."

"It all depends on how you use it."

-

His adoptive parents' family fell apart, and in their desperation, his former adoptive brother begged for days before finally managing to enter the Gu family's home.

But when he saw who was there, his face went deathly pale. "What are you doing here?"

Draped in Gu Yanshan's robe, Yu Ran stood on the steps with a smile on his lips. "I'm here to watch you beg me for mercy."

-

Everyone knew that Gu Yanshan's little pet was spoiled and clingy, and couldn't even sleep when he wasn't around.

Everything he had came from Gu Yanshan. Yu Ran couldn't live without him, or so Gu Yanshan thought.

Until the day Yu Ran tried to fly out of Gu Yanshan's palm, and the man who'd always prided himself on his self-control lost it.

· A scheming older man who is both owner and prey x a femme fatale who is both pet and hunter

[Older seme / 18 x 32 / age, size, and status differences / semi-raising / both dangerously unstable]

[Everyone gets their comeuppance]

[A messy, unconventional romance where the powerful man's plans go awry, and a melodramatic kink: whose neck is the other end of the leash around?]

Theme: Love yourself before loving others.